I just visited with my grandmother who flew in from Wa. She is a foster mom who takes in only immigrant kids. She said that the kids are allowed to stay as long as they are in school, until 21 and then they are deported. Most of the kids she gets will ask her for money so they can send it home to their parents. Her newest kid told her that was what was expected. To be sent here get in the system then send the money home. With the organization she works for she sees nobody trying to streamline a way for these kids to get citizenship at all. In fact she had a girl that she got twice, the first time she had been sold by her parents to a family in seattle to work. The money was never sent home so when she told her parents they told her to run away to the "government" and get into a home. She did and got my grandmother as her foster mother. Her parents wanted her returned home and promised never to sell her again. She went back home to Guatemala and my grandmother got her back a year later when she ran away from the family that bought the second time. That time my grandmother worked to get her a citizenship but it went nowhere. My grandmother pushes hard for the kids that want a citizenship and in 20 yrs she's only been able to help 2 kids realize their dream to stay here. Others already plan on going home. None of them want to go to school. They get angry when she sends them or drops them off at school. They want to get jobs instead so they can send money home.

I'm telling this story because there are so many different sides of the story. It's not just the education aspect. Some of these kids are being used by their parents. Allowing them to stay til 21 to get their education isn't always what is best for them. Most of them are not getting their education. She did have one kid that kept dropping out and actually spread his highschool years out until he was close to 21 and got sent to an adult school to get his GED. As soon as he was 21 he packed his bags and told her he was ready to go home now. She has a lot of kids who tell the organization they are orphans but it's less than a week before they ask to use the phone to call their mom. When they get picked up they can not be placed back in the "illegal" families home they go directly into the system.

And then theres people like a guy I went to law school with (he was one class behind me) who truly does want to stay here, and who is very hardworking and considers this country his home. He was featured on the news when the federal dream act was up for a vote, and did a lot of lobbying to get it passed - he has a law degree, and no path to citizenship. Sad.

And then theres people like a guy I went to law school with (he was one class behind me) who truly does want to stay here, and who is very hardworking and considers this country his home. He was featured on the news when the federal dream act was up for a vote, and did a lot of lobbying to get it passed - he has a law degree, and no path to citizenship. Sad.